Two peas in a pod
by Ganta
Summary: Join half demons, Naruto and Kyuubi, as they become good friends and the strongest ninja the world has ever seen. Should be super Naruto eventually. -HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Two peas in a pod**

**disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Naruto was running as fast as he could. Today was his seventh birthday and the villagers decided to take action against the 'threat' that was the nine tailed fox. Naruto didn't know why he was chased out of the village, but he could still hear them chanting "Kill the Demon!" and he was scared out of his mind.

Naruto dodged into near by shrubbery and waited for his pursuers to give up the chase. When the mob ran past the young blonde he darted back to where he though the village was. As Naruto struggled to make his way through all of the bushes and trees he really wished he had stayed on the main road.

After an hour of travel Naruto slowly came to the conclusion that he was lost. He dropped to his knees and cried. He loved Konoha more than anything, even ramen. He couldn't live without his village. Naruto continued to sob and break down until he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He ignored it until it became a stronger burning sensation. He whined from the pain for he didn't know how long. A shrieking yell emanated from the blond when he felt as if his skin was being burnt off. It lasted for only a second and then he passed out.

When Naruto awoke he was laying in two inches of water. He stood up and stared at what appeared to be an old sewer. There pipes above his head and cracks along the dirty walls. "Where am I?" asked Naruto to no one in a small crackled voice, as a result of all his crying and yelling. Naruto of course didn't expect the answer he got. **"In the depths of your filthy mind brat" **bellowed a voice that Naruto made Naruto think of evil. "Who said that!" shrieked Naruto. **"I did idiot" **replied the same evil voice. Naruto's instincts told him to run away from the evil voice, but Naruto's curiosity got the better of him, and he ran down the corridor searching every room until he came upon one specifically large room.

Naruto stepped into the room that occupied huge cage. "A-are you t-tha that voice?" mumbled and stuttered Naruto to a silhouette deep in the cage. **"Yes"** replied the voice as the silhouette moved closer to Naruto it was revealed to be a monstrous fox made of purely evil chakra, bringing with it a malicious grin. When Naruto saw the beast he froze and shortly after was impacted with a clawed fist of chakra.

Naruto slammed into the wall behind him and whimpered from the pain. **"I **_**will **_**feast on your flesh soon you pathetic child, for I **_**will**_** escape" **declared the fox. "Wh-who are you?" asked Naruto while taking gulps of air after having the wind knocked out of him from the attack.** "I am the Kyuubi no kitsune king of all demons" **stated the fox.

Naruto was shocked out of his mind at the statement. "Kyuubi?" said Naruto under his breath. He couldn't believe what that thing was saying. First he says this murky place is his mind, and then he claims to be the dead Nine tailed fox.

_No, he's lying! Why, why would this horrible demon be inside of me!? It's a lie, it's a lie!! _"It's a Lie!" yelled Naruto to the demon. "You're dead! You should be dead! You're not in my head, you're not alive!…you're why they hate me" And yet again Naruto collapsed to his knees and cried. **"Pathetic, If , If you hate me so much why don't you do something about it? Why not make me get out" **said the fox. Naruto stopped crying and looked at the demon "How?" the blonde questioned. Kyuubi repressed the urge to grin like a mad man and said **"All you have to do is rip that paper to release me and I shall leave" **replied the fox.

Naruto was at fist hesitant to do as the demon fox had told him, but he could never return to village with the demon. Naruto walked to the cage slowly grabbed the paper marked with the kanji for 'seal' and ripped it away from the cage.

Kyuubi was immediately ecstatic and planning his revenge against Konoha, but then he heard Naruto scream and felt immense pain. _**What the hell is happening! Why am I not free! **_Shortly after this thought from the fox, both he and Naruto blacked out.

When Kyuubi awoke it was to a rising sun and the sound of birds chirping. Kyuubi was at first joyous of his escape until he noticed that he felt weird and looked at his body and screamed. Naruto immediately woke and stared at Kyuubi in shock and fear, and then he asked "Are you Kyuubi?" he was answered by a detached "yes" from the human like 7 year old boy.

Naruto observed Kyuubi's characteristics. He had red hair with blonde streaks sticking in all directions just as Naruto's hair, eyes like a spectrum that are red near the edges, purple in the middle, and blue surrounding his pupil, tan skin, large teeth with sharp canines. And the only thing really setting him apart from the crowd being his fox like ears and tail that with red fur and blond fur at the tip. Actually it was that and the fact that he was naked. Naruto then felt a cool breeze in all the wrong places and an extra appendage.

Naruto scrutinized his appearance and screamed just as Kyuubi had. This caught the now brooding red head's attention. Kyuubi observed Naruto's changes to be similar to his own, minus being in the body of 7 year old boy when he wasn't one. Naruto's eyes were like a spectrum with blue near the edges, purple in the middle, and red surrounding his pupil, Blonde hair with red streaks, the same tan skin, and large teeth with sharp canines. And let's not forget to mention the fox ears and tail that were blonde and red at the tip.

"What happened to us Kyuubi!" shrieked the blonde youth in Kyuubi's general direction. "My guess is that the seal malfunctioned and merged us for some odd reason before separating us" replied Kyuubi. Naruto stared at Kyuubi and the two sat in silence before Kyuubi yelled "Why are you looking at me like that!?" in the most intimidating voice he could manage. Naruto laughed for a minute to the anger of Kyuubi and said "You sound like a little kid, at first it was weird but now it's just funny, you're not that scary anymore" explained Naruto. Kyuubi growled at the response and the two sat in silence once again.

Then Kyuubi came to a realization and stood up and began to walk off. "Where are you going?!" asked Naruto. "Away, I need to train and get back my power" replied Kyuubi before walking off again. "Wait! You have to help me learn how to hide these new features! They'd never let me back into the village otherwise!" yelled a panicky Naruto. "And why would I want to help you?" questioned Kyuubi. "What, you have to help me, come on don't be heartless!" practically begged Naruto.

Kyuubi thought about Naruto's request and found himself wanting to help Naruto. For what reason he wasn't quite sure; It could be he wanted a demon friend to hang out with, or that he liked Naruto's company. He shuddered at the later possibility and told Naruto "I'll help you out" this resulted in a happy Naruto that cheered and declared his greatness. "Were going to need cloths" said Kyuubi mostly to get the blonde to shut up and sit still. Naruto turned bright red at the thought of walking around naked for even just a day. "Right, but how do we get them?" questioned Naruto. "It'll be easy to steal some from a nearby village. Follow me" said the Kyuubi. "And you should refer to me as…Ahiko from now on".

Ahiko led Naruto to a small village with most of the residents asleep at this time or out in the fields farming. Once the two found a cloths line with cloths that might fit them they dashed for the cloths and disappeared back into the forest. "Whoa, that was scary. I was sure we were going to get caught" said Naruto as he put on dull green pants that were a bit too big for his frame and a plain white T-shirt. "Whatever" said Ahiko as he put on dull green pants that were too big for him and a plain black T-shirt. "Now let's train" said Ahiko.


	2. Chapter 2

**Two peas in a pod chapter 2**

**disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Lets start with a spar" said Ahiko looking bored. "Alright, you're going down!" declared Naruto. "Whatever" replied Ahiko. "Hold on a second, how does a spar help me get rid of my ears and tail" asked Naruto curiously. "It won't. I'm going to show you an illusionary technique for that. First though we'll need to build up your demonic energy. And to do that you have to build up physical power. Then I'll have to show you how to use it. And finally you will learn how to do the illusion" explained Ahiko. "Awe. That sounds like it'll take forever" wined Naruto. "Then you better start now and stop whining" said Ahiko annoyed at Naruto at this point.

"Okay, now you're going down" said Naruto before he charged Ahiko aiming for a left hook to his jaw. Ahiko dodged Naruto's simple and obvious attack. Naruto, having thrown too much of his power into the attack was thrown off balance from the dodge and fell to the ground. "Jeez Naruto, you suck" said Ahiko. At this comment Naruto fumed and hoped off of the ground and charged at Ahiko again. This time Ahiko took the offensive and caught Naruto's extended left fist with his right hand and slammed his own left fist into the young blondes face. Naruto wailed out in pain from the impact and backed away from Ahiko once he was released. Naruto now sported a bleeding nose. "Maybe you should think about mixing things up, this is way too easy" said Ahiko only furthering the blonde's anger. "Shut up, I'm still going to win" declared Naruto in a nasally voice. Then the blonde got into the leaf village academy taijutsu stance. Ahiko followed up by going into his own stance of him spreading his legs, going into a slight crouch, with both hands in front of his torso (left before the right), and bending the tips of his fingers.

Naruto then jumped into a taijutsu brawl with Ahiko for a good 5 seconds. In no time the blonde found himself on the floor again but this time clutching his gut. "I'm bored with this. You're a horrible fighter" said Ahiko to Naruto as he got up on wobbly legs. "Well I'm not done with you" said Naruto nasally and barely standing. "You need to learn how to pick your battles. If this were a real life or death battle you'd be dead by now. So just give up" said Ahiko. "No, I can do better. I still have energy left, so I can keep going" said Naruto in the nasally voice. "Well either you got guts or you're really stupid. I'd go for the later by the way" said Ahiko. Naruto just brushed off the insult and got back into the leaf academy stance. "Naruto you aren't going to do any better. You aren't good at taijutsu…at all. Aside from leaving damn near your entire body open for attacks, you barged into the fight blindly, and wasted too much energy on your attacks. Either you're really stupid, or you're poorly trained" concluded Ahiko. "I'm not stupid!" yelled Naruto who then became rather depressed and said "And I've been trying really hard" at this moment Naruto was borderline tears. "Now don't start the water works, I could help you out with taijutsu" replied Ahiko in an uncaring manner. At this Naruto's eyes lit up and he jumped for joy "Alright! You're the best. I'm going to be a super powerful ninja and then everyone will respect me and I'll become…" but Naruto was cut off before he could finish his speech by Ahiko saying "Shut up already and listen, because I will not repeat myself" In a demanding voice that Naruto had to obey. And so the blonde sat down in front of Ahiko and listened.

Once Naruto quieted down Ahiko began his lecture "Your fighting style should represent a piece of you to work best. By developing your own style you will produce far greater potential in taijutsu. My style is vicious and quiet. I go for the quick kill and move quickly and silently. This would not work for you, a style with more power and simpler for your mind to understand would work far better" Naruto frowned at the jab to his intelligence but continued to listen. "And it wouldn't kill you to be a lot less predictable. We should also incorporate some speed, and the defense is the least important since we heal faster than regular humans and can take more damage. So you go try to think up your style" when Ahiko finished Naruto began thinking.

"Well this is going to take a while" muttered Ahiko under his breath as he observed Naruto try to think. "I heard that" said Naruto having picked up the mutter due to his newly received advanced hearing. "Shouldn't you be trying to think" replied Ahiko matter-of-factly. Naruto grumbled and went back to thinking. Ahiko then went to his own training. First he stretched and then decided on building up his strength and speed and first did some push-up's and sit up's.

Naruto was thinking hard and coming up with nothing, he was getting really frustrated when he decided to try doing anything and seeing if it would work. He spread his legs first, and then placed his right foot before his left foot. He placed his right hand near where his weapons pouch would be, and his left fist was outstretched to his invisible opponent. Naruto felt it was a good stance but wanted the fox's approval. "How's this Ahiko!" yelled Naruto to Ahiko. At this point Ahiko was sprinting up and down the open area and Naruto's yell drifted his concentration away from where he was going. This resulted in him bumping into a tree.

Ahiko backed away from the tree and muttered a few obscenities before saying "What do you want Naruto?" sounding pissed in Naruto's opinion. Naruto did his best not to laugh, preferring not to anger the red head any further and said "I think I came up with a good stance, what you think?" Naruto then went back into his stance and looked at Ahiko expectantly. Ahiko in turn shrugged and said "If it works for you, use it" at the response Naruto nodded and started practicing movements in his stance.

Following his short chat with Naruto, Ahiko started practicing his movements in his stance. Ahiko was much more fluid in his movements than Naruto who hesitated before each move. Ahiko knew it would take a while for the movements to become second nature to the boy and continued with his own practicing.

Naruto was engrossed in his work and paid no attention to his tiring body he just kept working. He had to keep going. The faster he could build up his strength the faster he would be back in Konoha. And in no time his dream to become Hokage shall be fulfilled. As Naruto began to daydream he also fell to the ground and passed out from exhaustion.

Naruto woke up to the smell of food and his loudly grumbling stomach. He also noted that the sun had set long ago. When Ahiko first heard Naruto's stomach he tensed up, but once his hearing located the sound to come from Naruto he had to stifle a chuckle. The kid had to be hungry; he hadn't eaten all day and trained until he passed out. When Naruto groggily made his way over to Ahiko who was cooking some kind of meat over a small fire he looked to the other boy asking the silent question 'do I get some?' "You can have that one" said Ahiko pointing to the meat directly in front of Naruto.

"What is it?" asked Naruto while he stared at the meat in question. "Rabbit" replied Ahiko. "Rabbit!? But there so cute and innocent, why rabbit?" asked Naruto in a whiny voice. "You know you're quite annoying, and its meat so eat it or starve" replied Ahiko as he grabbed his now cooked piece. Naruto looked to the meat, then his stomached growled and he grabbed the food. Naruto tasted the meat and said "Not very tasty". "Well it's not like I would bother to give it some flavor. I don't care what my food taste like as long as it fills me up. Why don't you just cook next time?" asked an annoyed Ahiko. "Well I don't know how to cook…wanna teach me?" asked Naruto always happy to learn something new and to hang out with anyone. "No" was Ahiko's simple reply as he munched on his rabbit. Naruto frowned and ate his own rabbit.

Once Ahiko finished his food he layed down next to the fire and went to sleep. Naruto followed his example but didn't fall asleep as easily. The ground was uncomfortable and the fire didn't provide enough heat to keep Naruto's whole body warm like a blanket would. Naruto sighed at the sad truth of just having to deal with it and tried to go to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Two peas in a pod chapter 3**

**disclaimer: i do not own Naruto.**

When Naruto woke up he felt like crap. All he could think was _man I miss my bed_. As Naruto stretched and popped some tight joints Ahiko awoke and glared at Naruto for interrupting his sleep. "My bad" said Naruto before going to a tree to practice taijutsu on. Ahiko grumbled and stretched himself before going off to hunt breakfast.

Ahiko returned to the campsite to a still training Naruto with four fish and fresh wood for a fire. As Ahiko gut and scaled the first fish with his claws Naruto noticed his return and ran to Ahiko and asked "What are you doing?".

"Gutting and scaling these fish" replied Ahiko. Naruto then observed Ahiko clean the fish. Ahiko then cleaned some sticks. Once that was accomplished Ahiko stuck the fish onto the sticks and stuck the sticks onto the ground. Ahiko then set up the fire. Next he took a stick into his hand and sparked a flame that he used to light the fire.

"Cool, how did you do that?" asked Naruto referring to Ahiko's use of his fire affinity. Ahiko sighed and said "Fire is my elemental affinity, in this half demon body my skills are much weaker and I must be in contact to use my fire. And before you ask an elemental affinity is your type of elemental chakra, which you work best with regarding techniques."

"So how do I figure out my elemental affinity?" asked Naruto interested in incorporating it into his fighting style. "I believe humans use a special type of tree bark, but I don't know where you get it. Besides, that lesson is far more advanced than where you are now. You haven't even started on jutsu" replied Ahiko. Naruto frowned slightly before brightening up at an idea. "Hey, can we spar again?" asked Naruto excitedly. "Ask me in month and then maybe I'll consider" was Ahiko's reply. Naruto gaped at the reply and said "Oh come on, I'll need to practice my style in actual combat right".

Ahiko was about to reply when his hearing picked up a scream. _Should I go check it out? Well they might have some cash on them; maybe I should go for it. Money would be a nice thing to have so…_ "Let's go Naruto" said Ahiko as he ran to the source of the yell. "Huh, what? Where are you going?!" said Naruto as he hurried to catch up with Ahiko. Ahiko said nothing to Naruto and just kept running. After a couple of minutes of travel through the thick woods the two came to the main road and upon a group of three bandits robbing an old lady and her young granddaughter, probably 6 or 7 years old.

The two stayed quiet as they observed the group. "Is that all you got lady" asked the apparent leader of the group of three. "Y-yes" replied the old lady. "Let's go boys" said the leader. And then the group hoped onto their horses and left. Naruto wanted to stop the bandits before they left but was held back from his charge by Ahiko. Once the bandits left Ahiko and an annoyed Naruto followed them. After 5 minutes of travel Ahiko jumped onto the road and blocked the bandit's path. Naruto immediately came to Ahiko's side.

"What the hell?" said the leader once he noticed the kids' animal features. "I think there demons boss, lets get out of here" said bandit #1. "There just a couple of kids, we can handle them" said bandit #2. "Let's kill them" said the leader. Naruto began to visibly shake as the bandits got off of their horses. "I'll be able to kill them before they kill you" said Ahiko as he charged at bandit #1. Bandit #1 unsheathed his sword and was stabbed in the gut by Ahiko's claws immediately afterwards. Bandit #1 dropped his sword and clutched his bleeding wound. Ahiko then kicked the man to the ground and faced the leader of the bandits with a feral grin spreading across his features.

The leader was scared of the demon child but didn't show it. He then took out a mace and charged at the boy. Naruto paled at the sight of bandit #1's blood and Ahiko's facial features. And bandit #2 took advantage of the distraction and charged at Naruto with his unsheathed sword. Naruto just barely managed to dodge getting his head cut off, having heard the bandit approaching him. As Naruto faced his opponent all he could think was _I can't die today. _

Ahiko faced his opponent still pumped with adrenalin and that vicious smirk planted on his face. The leader swung his mace in a left to right motion while still ten feet away from Ahiko. This puzzled the red head until the spiked ball launched out of the metal rod and came swinging at his head. Ahiko bent back to avoid the weapon and sprinted to his opponent, not liking the idea of having a long ranged battle when he had too little demonic energy to launch at the man. Too bad for Ahiko that the man proved to be quite skilled with his weapon and kept the fox boy to a distance. Ahiko did not like where the battle was going.

At that time Naruto wasn't faring any better against his opponent. Naruto now sported many cuts on his arms and face due to too many close calls. But the blonde had managed to punch his enemy a few times as well, and with enough force to make the man stumble. Naruto needed to end the battle before his luck ran out regarding his defense and the bandit hit a vital organ. But the blonde was clueless as to how to bring the man down quickly. And then Naruto got an idea.

Ahiko had to get close to the leader to kill him and his stupid weapon was keeping him from doing so. He had to come up with a plan. _I could always charge and take the blows, but with this half demon body the injuries will take some time to heal. So what can I do? _And then it hit Ahiko. He then set his plan into action and stopped in his tracks. The leader smirked and launched his weapon at Ahiko. At the last minute Ahiko let free half of his demonic energy that served to slow the weapon down. Ahiko then grabbed hold of the chain connected to the spiked ball and pulled the leader closer to him. The leader was shocked at the release of pure evil and even more shocked at the little boys' strength. But before he was able to compose himself Ahiko had carved a deep slit in his throat with his claws. The leader then proceeded to choke on his blood and died. Ahiko breathed a little heavily and picked up his opponents weapon deciding to keep it for himself. After tying the three horses' reins to a tree and pillaging his two opponents Ahiko then looked to see how Naruto was doing with his opponent.

Naruto immediately put his plan into action and when bandit #2 slashed at the blonde again Naruto caught the sword and pulled back to make him stumble. Then he punched the man in the gut with all of his might. Bandit #2 fell to the floor and dropped his sword, which Naruto scrambled to pick up. Bandit #2 then got to his feet and looked prepared to say something but then his face contorted in pain and he screamed for a short moment. It was then that Naruto noticed the sword sticking out from where his heart should be.

At first Naruto was shocked and scared. But then bandit #2 fell to the ground face first to reveal Ahiko who then proceeded to pull the sword free. "Wow, you look like shit" said Ahiko regarding Naruto's plentiful of cuts. "Shut up" said Naruto as he frowned. Ahiko then went through bandit #2's pockets and found 50 ryo. He then took bandit #2's sword sheathe as well and handed the two items to Naruto. "Huh" was Naruto's reaction. "That's what we came here for" was Ahiko's reaction. And then Naruto noticed the Mace and sword sheathe on Ahiko's person and muttered "Oh". Naruto then sheathe his new sword that was far too big for him to properly handle and Ahiko cleaned his new sword with a hand full of grass before sheathing it.

"Grab him Naruto" said Ahiko while pointing to Naruto's dead opponent. "What!?" replied Naruto against the idea of touching a dead body. "Were going to throw the bodies into a river or something" said Ahiko. Naruto then tried to push away his fear and disgust. Then he grabbed bandit #2 by the legs and winced at the pain in his left hand from when he caught the sword. Naruto ignored the pain deciding to deal with his injuries later and followed Ahiko who heaved one bandit over his shoulder, but the bandits' legs still dragged on the floor, and dragged the other bandit by his foot. The two then went into the forest. On their way to the river both boys accidentally knocked the dead bodies against trees and rocks. Ahiko didn't care much and was having too tough of a time moving the bodies in the fist place. And Naruto wasn't even looking at the body he was transporting.

Once they made it to the river Naruto sighed in relief and let go of the dead body. "Just throw him into the river" said Ahiko as he began throwing his two former opponents into the river. Naruto then did as he was told with a bit of difficulty. Once that task was done Ahiko set his belongings aside and went into the river and began cleaning himself of blood. Naruto decided to follow Ahiko's example.

Once the two were sort of clean they got out of the river and collected their things. Ahiko then led them back to where the horses were. "Hey, why did we come back here?" asked Naruto. "To get the horses and the bandit's supplies" said Ahiko. "Oh" said Naruto. The two then quickly collected the horses and made their way back to their camp site.

Once they got there they began going through the bandit's supplies. There was some feed for the horses, first aid kits, ration bars, cloths they couldn't fit, and some jewlery. "You can have the first aid kits and rations. We could sell these horses and the jewelry in a town maybe. And we don't need the cloths" said Ahiko. "Alright" said Naruto as he collected his things. Naruto then tried to tend to the wound on his hand that looked a little pink and was beginning to scab up. Ahiko took a bag from one of the horses to put the jewelry and feed in, and threw a bag to Naruto. Naruto had finished sort of wrapping his wound and put his things into the bag.

"Man, that was some afternoon" said Naruto as he and Ahiko laid down to rest up their muscles. After a couple of minutes of relaxation Naruto's stomached grumbled and Ahiko said "Yeah, I'm pretty hungry too". Naruto at first went to go get some of his rations but then he got an idea and said "Hey can I go hunt with you?". "You'd just get in the way, and you have food to eat already" said Ahiko. "I just want to observe" whined Naruto. "You'd better not scare away my prey" said Ahiko before he got up. Naruto then hurried to fetch a ration bar to quiet down his stomach. "Wait up!" said Naruto as he hurried after Ahiko and unwrapped his food at the same time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Two peas in a pod**

**disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Y-you killed so many. So much b-blood" said Naruto with a look of shock. "Yeah, good times, slaughters are the best!" said a hyped up Ahiko. "Man you really are blood thirsty aren't you?" said a now scared for his life Naruto as he backed away from the potential threat. "I'm not blood thirsty; killing is just so awesome that it's my hobby/addiction. You know like you're Ramen addiction" shrugged off Ahiko as they made their way to camp. "Oh, so that means you won't kill me right?" asked a hopeful Naruto. "Probably not" said Ahiko. "Well, that's good enough for me. Hey are you sure you don't want to teach me how to cook. Wait, I have a better idea we could play a game" said Naruto as he turned back to his jolly old self.

"Are you bipolar or something?" asked Ahiko as the two made their way into their camp. "What's bipolar?" asked Naruto. "Forget about it" replied Ahiko as he prepared to cook his meal of a fairly large snake. Naruto decided to leave his weird new friend alone and started practicing his taijutsu.

Naruto whipped around when he heard the sound of something impacting a tree and watched said tree fall to the ground with a crash. "Damn, I guess I should practice with this thing" mumbled Ahiko. "What the hell did you do that for!?" yelled Naruto, having been scared by the sudden sound. When Naruto was given no reply and Ahiko looked to be studying an area near the tree Naruto decided to do the same.

Right next to the tree was a small orange fox with white paws and the fox looked scared out of its mind, what with Ahiko giving the poor thing a death glare. "Poor little fox!" screamed Naruto as he ran to the aid of the helpless animal. "I'm so sorry Ahiko scared you like that" said Naruto to the fox as he picked it up and turned to his red headed pal and said "You should apologize". "You have to be kidding me" said Ahiko as he put his mace to the side. "You nearly killed him!" said Naruto in an attempt to make his friend feel bad about himself, and doing a horrible job at it. "I'm still mad that I didn't kill him Naruto, that weapon is harder to use than it looks" said Ahiko.

"But it's just a baby fox, you're so mean" said Naruto before talking to the small fox "You must be hungry, I'll help you go find food" and just like that Naruto left and Ahiko was alone "Such an idiot" mumbled Ahiko before retrieving his mace and beginning to train.

"Ramen's a great hunter Ahiko. He caught this bird half his size within minutes after we left" boasted Naruto. "Naruto, don't tell me you named that little fox Ramen" said Ahiko once again putting his mace to the side. "What, it's such a cool name. I wish my name was Ramen. But at least naruto is a part of ramen, just like ramen is a part of me" said Naruto owning him a weird look from his friend. "What?" asked Naruto. "Ramen is a dumb name but to each their own" said Ahiko. "No it isn't, it's a cool name right Ramen?" said Naruto before looking to his furry new friend. Ramen just looked at Naruto and started eating his food again.

"How about a spar Naruto, I want to test out my weapon on a moving target" said Ahiko as he retrieved his mace. Naruto was a bit scared of being hit by the mace but he wasn't one to give up before he even tried, and he had wanted to spar with Ahiko again.

"Alright! Let's do it, dattebayo!" announced Naruto. "What's a dattebayo? Is that even a word" asked Ahiko. "It's a word I made up. It all came to me in a dream. In the dream I said dattebayo a lot and I was walking around Konoha. When I woke up dattebayo was stuck in my head and I though 'whoa that's a cool word, I'd stand out a lot more too if I say it all the time'" explained Naruto. "Yeah, that was not interesting. Now let's fight already" and with that Ahiko swung his weapon at an unprepared Naruto. The end result was Naruto holding a bleeding arm that was cut pretty deep during Naruto's last minute dodge.

"What the hell, get off you stupid fox!" yelled Ahiko at Ramen who was biting into his calf. Ahiko shook his leg out of reflex and flicked Ramen over to Naruto, but the fox didn't manage to land too nicely.

Naruto stood there with a bleeding arm, Ahiko with a bleeding calf, and Ramen was balancing on three paws. "Thanks for the help Ramen, but try to stay away from Ahiko as much as possible. You know how vicious he is" and with that Naruto leapt into action and charged Ahiko head on.

Ahiko blocked the punch Naruto sent his way and kicked the blonde in his rib cage with his good leg. Naruto recovered from the kick and backed away from the mace Ahiko was going to smash his head in with. "This is a pretty dangerous spar" said Naruto. "I always go for the kill, so you should be more careful" said Ahiko before swinging his mace and launching the spiked ball at Naruto's face.

Naruto dodged the attack only to have to doge the spiked ball more and more. He immediately began to fear for his life what with a dangerous weapon flying his way repeatedly. _This was such a bad idea! He really might kill me! _Naruto internally panicked as he continued to dodge. _I really should have stayed closer to him. _

Naruto began to tire resulting in him having slower movements and earning him more cuts, but not as deep as his first. Ahiko on the other hand didn't seem to be tiring at all, but truthfully swinging the heavy weapon around was becoming a hassle for the red head. He pondered going in for a taijutsu brawl, but he really did want to practice with his mace and he was getting better the more he fought with the weapon.

Naruto was struggling to keep from getting more injuries and couldn't get closer to Ahiko to inflict any injuries on his opponent. Naruto's mind then drifted to the subject of his furry companion's whereabouts. He had no idea where he had gone. He had been there a second ago and then he was gone.

Naruto thought he might have abandoned him in his time of need but then thought of the less saddening conclusion that the fox had a plan. Naruto hoped it was a good plan and then returned to his attention to the battle after receiving a particularly deep cut on his leg.

When Ramen jumped at Ahiko from behind the red head Naruto brightened up at the sight. And when Ahiko switched his attention to the fox and away from Naruto the blonde took advantage of the situation and yanked the other boy closer to hikm by the chain of Ahiko's weapon. Ramen landed from his flight correctly this time around and Ahiko was the one that was sent flying. "Damn" said Ahiko a little ticked at having his own trick used against him. Ahiko released his weapon and straitened himself up before attacking Naruto who was ready for the upcoming brawl.

Ahiko was surprised that Naruto had progressed in taijutsu in such a short time, but the progress was not enough to compete with Ahiko's level of skill. The blonde was only able to nail Ahiko with one hit while the red head had pounded Naruto relentlessly. Whenever Ramen attempted to intervene with the fight Ahiko would kick the poor fox away and continue his assault on Naruto. It wasn't until the blonde could fight no longer that the fight ended.

The sun had set and the moon shined brightly as Naruto lay on the ground totally exhausted with bruises all over, along with an exhausted Ramen at his side. Ahiko on the other hand stood above the blonde with his injured calf and a bruise on his cheek. "Well, I win" said Ahiko to the unmoving blonde who held a huge smile on his face.

"And you're smiling because" said a ticked off Ahiko. He always loved the pain of his victims, and Naruto was smiling when he was should have been projecting his pain and misery. "I hit you and Ramen bit you, you're not so tough" was Naruto's reply. Ahiko did not take kindly to those words "And I beat you into the ground, you can't even move" was Ahiko's automatic reply. "But I'm improving. And now I know how good Ramen would be with me in battle. I'm going to train him too and then I'll be even stronger with his help" said Naruto still smiling.

"Whatever, I'm going to get some food" said Ahiko before walking off into the woods. Naruto continued to lie where he was, still unable to move his aching body and smiled. "You were great Ramen, once I'm able to move I'll heal you up as best as I can. I really wish Ahiko hadn't hit you so much, but we'll get him back next time" said Naruto to his newly appointed partner.


	5. Chapter 5

**Two peas in a pod**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Feeling any better there Ramen" asked Naruto. Said fox whimpered in reply. Naruto frowned at this and sighed. It had been a day since the spar with Ahiko and Naruto could finally move. He had first taken out the first aid kit and wrapped up Ramen's injured leg and now moved on to treating his own injuries. "Yeah I'm still sore too, Ahiko hits hard" said Naruto as he wrapped his sore knuckles. He had ended up hitting a lot of things other than Ahiko during their spar.

"So you're finally up then" said Ahiko as he emerged from the bushes and into their camp. "Yeah, but I feel much better than I think I should. I'm sure that a beating like that would have had me out of it for much longer than just one day. I only feel sore now" said Naruto. "That would be the effects of your demonic power" said Ahiko. "Oh yeah. Ahiko, I want a rematch!" yelled Naruto. "You'll just lose again, but go for it if you want another beating" boasted Ahiko. "No way, next time Ramen and I are going to get our revenge for your rough treatment. It was a spar, not a life or death battle" said Naruto as he stood up to face his friend.

"Well those are the types of battles that really teach you something. Now you know what it'll be like in the battle field" said Ahiko. "Oh, well I guess that's helpful…but were still going to get you back" replied Naruto before lying down to relax his sore body. "You really won't. And once you're fully healed I'll teach you how to use your demon energy" said Ahiko.

"Really, cool!" said an excited Naruto as he jumped for joy. Naruto no sooner regretted his actions when he felt the aftereffects. "Ow" said Naruto before lying on the floor again. "I'm going to go try and sell this stuff, I'll be back in a week" said Ahiko as he collected the horses and the jewelry. "Hey, you should take that sword over there too, I'm never going to use it" said Naruto pointing to the sword leaning against a tree with Naruto's other belongings. Ahiko retrieved the sword and was on his way when he stopped "you might as well watch me perform the genjutsu I'm going to teach you" said Ahiko. "Awe, cool" said Naruto before focusing on Ahiko.

Ahiko built up his demonic energy to the point where it covered his entire body in a thin sheet of the red energy. Naruto was freaked by the power surge that brought with it killer intent. Naruto tried focusing on what Ahiko was doing, but the energy was intimidating. And before Naruto knew what happened, Ahiko had changed his form. Now there in front of Naruto stood an adult version of Ahiko without the fox ears and tail. "Huh, what happened? How did you do that?" asked a puzzled Naruto. "I'll explain it when I get back" said Ahiko before leaving the camp.

-1 week later-

Ahiko returned to the camp to be greeted by Naruto rather enthusiastically followed by a limping Ramen. "Hey Ahiko! I was training once I was all better and I improved a lot! Now let's start activating my demonic energy!" yelled Naruto to Ahiko who was no more than 5 feet away from him. "Stop yelling and before I show you how to activate your demon energy I'm going to tell you about it so listen up. By the way I got a nice sum of ryo from selling all that stuff" said Ahiko. "Cool, we should go buy some cloths and shoes…and if I don't get any ramen soon I'm going to go crazy! It's been forever since I last tasted the best food in the world, and that is way too long" said Naruto.

"You're forgetting that you still haven't learned the genjutsu" said Ahiko. Naruto was crushed by this revelation "Nooooooo! It'll take forever before I get to taste ramen again" said a now sad Naruto. "I said stop yelling, and I can just bring you ramen. Now just shut up and listen" said Ahiko as he glared at the blonde that was now on his knees and wallowing in misery. "Really, you are way nicer than I thought Ahiko!" said a now happy Naruto. "I said shut up" said an angry Ahiko as he glared at Naruto, more so enraged from the fact that Naruto thought of him as nice. He was not nice. Naruto immediately shut up and lowered Ahiko's nice rating. He gave the guy a compliment and he tries to glare him to death, that's more evil than nice in Naruto's book.

Ahiko then began his little lecture on demonic energy. "Demon energy is, as you already know, increased by gaining physical power. But to perform techniques with it you need to have either a clear mind and or good control of it. When performing the genjutsu I will be teaching you both are needed. Your Demonic energy is very useful for combat in that on it's own it is very destructive. And it's so easy to build up your energy can last for long periods of time. Activating it is specific to certain demons. Most demons, like me, just get angry to activate it but you're probably different."

"So, an emotion woul activate it?" questioned Naruto. "Yeah" replied Ahiko. "But I can't force an emotion" said Naruto sadly. "That's what you'll have to learn to do" said Ahiko. "No problem, I can do anything I set my mind to" said Naruto brightening up with determination. "Whatever, I'm going to go train" said Ahiko. "Hold on, how will I know when I've accessed my demon energy?" asked Naruto. "You'll feel an increase in your energy and power" said Ahiko before he began fighting an invisible opponent.

Naruto immediately began going through emotions. After tried every emotion he knew he failed to notice any differences with his power and energy. He tied every emotion again at least five times and still felt no increase in energy and power. "Maybe I'm not really getting emotional. Uhg, this is stupid" said Naruto miserable at his failure. Naruto sat there feeling sorry for himself for a few minutes before he realized how stupid he was being. "Why am I giving up so quickly? I'll just try again until I get. All I have to do is keep trying and I'll figure it out" Naruto then felt a burst of energy and smiled like a mad man. "Yessss! I did it!" yelled Naruto as he did a little victory dance. Ahiko looked over to Naruto and stopped his training to say "Now you have to coat your entire body in your demon energy" and then went back to smashing rocks with his mace.

"No problem" said Naruto before working on what Ahiko said. The task quickly proved to be more difficult than Naruto originally believed. To get the burst of energy all Naruto had to do was believe he could do it, but to coat his body with it Naruto had to release the energy from his body and then try to wrap it around his body. Naruto could only get the top of his head covered and he was making little improvement.

"Hey Ahiko, I feel really tired and sore" said Naruto, who had been working on coating his body all day long. "You nearly drained yourself of all your demon energy, It'll take a day to replenish all of it" said Ahiko, who was lying by the fire he built preparing to sleep. "Alright, I'll just work on my taijutsu tomorrow" said Naruto before walking over to the fire and going to sleep himself.


	6. Chapter 6

**Two peas in a pod 6**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruo.**

**AN: Soooo sorry this took so long. **

-1 year later-

Naruto awoke from a deep sleep feeling horrible. He got to his feet wincing with each movement and left his tent. He yawned and wiped the sleep away from his eyes. On his way to make some instant ramen he remembered what happened the other night. A huge smile crept across his face and he had to cheer for joy a second time.

"What the hell Naruto, keep it down!" said an irritated Ahiko who was lounging around the campsite. Naruto turned to his friend and said "I finally learned it! I'm so happy, now we can go back to Konoha!"

"Hmm, how long can you hold it?" asked Ahiko who was leaning against a tree. Naruto stopped his cheering to think "Well, I finally got it right last night and it held for a minute before I ran out of the demonic energy needed for the technique…so I'm not sure" said Naruto as he laughed awkwardly. "Well, you could always practice on your way back to Konoha" said Ahiko. "Yeah! I'm going to start packing up everything right now!" said Naruto before rushing around the area gathering up supplies and cloths.

When Naruto was done he said "All right were ready to go!". Naruto had a large sword on his back and dragging three large bags. "Naruto, why do you have so much stuff?" asked Ahiko with one small bag on his back and his mace strapped to his waist. Naruto said "It's not that much, now lets go!"

"I'd advise you to just leave a lot of that junk you're carrying around, and I'm not going with you to Konoha" said Ahiko. "Huh, Why?!" asked a shocked Naruto. "A lot of reasons, mostly I just like to wander around" said Ahiko. "Well, do you think you'd stop by Konoha anytime?" asked a hopeful Naruto, he didn't like the thought of losing his first friend. "Maybe" said Ahiko before leaving the area.

Naruto sighed "How about you Ramen? You coming with me" Naruto asked his small fox friend at his side. Ramen answered Naruto's question by simply staying at his side. Naruto smiled and said "Alright Konoha here we come!"

In no time Naruto found himself in two predicaments. For one, after traveling for a couple of minutes with all of his things he found out what a stupid idea it was. He could handle the weight, but his coordination was another story. He ended up stopping and leaving behind some of the miscellaneous items he collected over the past year or so.

When he re-began his travels he realized he had no idea which way Konoha was. They had always stayed in one part of the woods for a couple of weeks or so before moving along to another area. Naruto wasn't even sure he was still in fire country with all the ground they covered in their travels. "This is going to take a while" mumbled Naruto.

After working all night on holding his transformation technique Naruto and Ramen went to a near by village to buy a map and discover that they were in lightning country. Naruto wandered around in the little village for a while, to relax for a bit before his long journey back to Konoha.

-2 weeks later-

Naruto and Ramen were both exhausted. This was due to the fact that they headed to Konoha at a quick pace and because Naruto wasn't leading them in the right direction the whole time. When Naruto saw the walls to Konoha he was overjoyed. "Yes, finally! I really have to work on my stupid navigational skills"

"Now to find a gate, I wonder which way?" Naruto looked to his right and left. "Hmm, let's go to the … Is that Ichiraku ramen I smell?" Naruto sniffed the air picking up the scent with his enhanced sense of smell. "I tell you Ramen, Ichiraku makes the best ramen in the world. I can't wait to taste it again. Let's hurry!" and with that Naruto ran to the right and through the nearest gate, only to be stopped by a guard.

"What's your business in Konoha?" asked the guard who had blocked Naruto's path, stopping the blonde in his tracks. Naruto Looked up to the guard and replied to his question with "I used to live here, and I'm moving back into the village"

The guard studied Naruto for a bit, feeling familiar with the boy. He then realized who the odd boy before him was. "Naruto…Uzumaki?" asked the guard. Naruto was a bit shocked that the guard knew him, seeing as nearly all of Konoha would act as if he didn't exist. "Uh, yeah" replied Naruto. The guard looked a bit surprised at Naruto's confirmation before saying "Head to Hokage-sama's office" and heading back to his post.

Naruto was happy that his first encounter with a Konoha citizen was so pleasant. Then he remembered Ichiraku ramen. But first he had to see the Hokage. Naruto sighed in disappointment. But he did miss the old man; he had always been so nice to Naruto. So he and Ramen headed to the Hokage tower.

When they arrived at the Hokage tower Naruto told Ramen "Wait here with my stuff while I talk to the old man" and so Naruto put his bags on the ground and walked into the tower. When the secretary noticed Naruto enter the room she asked "May I help you?" "Yeah, I came to talk with the Hokage" said Naruto. "I'm sorry but the Hokage is very busy at the moment" said the secretary. "Well, when do you think I can…" "Naruto, come with me to my office" said Sarutobi.

The secretary was shocked at the Hokage's sudden appearance and at the fact that the child she was speaking to was the Uzumaki child; the container of the Kyuubi that went missing about a year ago. She had always been afraid of the child, not knowing if to be around him was safe or if the Kyuubi had any influence on him. As she watched the Hokage and demon container exit the room she wondered what happened to cause the boy to go missing, and what caused him to return to the village. She knew his life here wasn't pleasant. The secretary then banished the thoughts of the demon container out of her mind and went back to her work.

"Naruto, I'm glad to see you back in the village. I have some questions for you" said the Hokage as he walked to his desk. "I'm glad to see you again too old man" said Naruto with a big smile on his face. The Third smiled back at Naruto before asking "Why were you gone for so long?"

"Um, I was running away from some people that were chasing me. I ran out of the village and got myself lost" said Naruto. "You were wandering around for over a year without coming across the village?" asked the Hokage.

Naruto looked to floor. Naruto knew this time would come once he came back to Konoha. Now it was either lie even though he wasn't a convincing liar, or tell the truth and risk getting kicked out of the village. Naruto just didn't know what to do. He wished he could just keep it to himself. "…Something happened when I was lost…I, um…do you need to know now?"

"You can tell me when you see fit" replied the Sandaime. Naruto smiled at the old man and said "Thanks, and what happened is only really a problem for me" said Naruto. "My next question is, do you want to continue the academy this year?" asked the Hokage. "Definitely! But didn't classes already begin" replied Naruto. "Not too long ago, and now you'll be in a class with kids in your age group" said Sandaime. "And in regards to your living arrangements, I'll find you an apartment by tonight. Come back to my office around 8 pm to receive the keys and address" said the Hokage. "Alright old man, see ya then" Naruto then left the Hokage's office and made his way to his fox friend.

"Alright Ramen, were headed to Ichiraku!" Naruto then grabbed his bags and rushed off to his favorite ramen stand. "I'll take a beef ramen" said Naruto as he took a seat. "Coming right up…Naruto!" Techi was shocked to see his #1 customer again. "Naruto?!" exclaimed Ayame, coming from the back of the ramen stand. Techi and Ayame were one of the few people that were ever nice to Naruto, and were both saddened when he went missing. So when they saw the blonde ball of energy again "When did you get back?" asked Ayame. "Why were you gone so long?" asked Techi. "How have you been?" asked Ayame. Naruto looked at the two of them, waiting for answers. "Well…" "Hold on, I'll start making your ramen" said Techi, interrupting Naruto.

Ayame stayed where she was to chat a bit more with Naruto before getting back to work. Ayame looked beside Naruto tosspot his fox friend. "Is that little fox with you Naruto?" asked Ayame. "Yeah, his names Ramen" replied Naruto. Ayame giggled and said "Well, that's a neat name". Naruto frowned "then how come you were laughing?". "It's just amusing how much you like ramen" said Ayame. "It's irresistible I tell you" said Naruto. "So, where were you while you were out of the village?" asked Ayame. "Here and there" vaguely replied Naruto. Ayame frowned at the answer but didn't press for details. "Here's your ramen Naruto" said Techi as he gave Naruto his ramen. "Awesome, I haven't had you ramen in too long Techi. Itadikimasu!" Naruto then dug into his meal. In no time his bow was clean. "That was delicious, I'll have another beef ramen" said Naruto. "Coming right up" said Techi.

6 bowls of ramen later Naruto was walking out of the Ichiraku saying goodbye to Techi and Ayame. Now Naruto had to kill some time before he could head home and get some sleep. As Naruto wandered around the village he was sad to notice all of those cold eyes he hated directed his way, and the fact that everyone avoided him. After everything went so well earlier he forgot about all the not friendly at all citizens. When Naruto was tired of wandering around the village he went to the training grounds to train.

As Naruto practiced his taijutsu he thought about possibly making some new friends at the academy, but it didn't happen last year. The other kids avoided him just like the adults. Naruto then started to look forward to learning how to use his chakra, perform techniques, and perfect all of his skills.

When 8pm came around Naruto went back to the Hokage tower. "The Hokage is waiting for you" said the secretary. "Alright, thanks" said Naruto before heading to the Hokage's office. The secretary looked at the little fox following Naruto in question before getting back to her work.

"Hey old man" greeted Naruto. "Good evening Naruto, here are your keys and address" said Sandaime as he handed Naruto the items. "Thanks" said Naruto. "Is that fox following you?" asked the Third. "Yeah, he's my friend Ramen. We met in the woods" replied Naruto. Sandaime smiled and said "I'll see you around then Naruto". "Later old man" said Naruto as he and Ramen headed to their new apartment.

As Naruto unpacked his bags he remembered his time spent with Ahiko. They sure had attacked a bunch of bandits, and collected a lot of weapons. Naruto kept the more interesting ones, like this one huge sword he had strapped to his back. This was unnoticed since the transformation genjutsu works on items covered in demonic energy as well, it just takes more energy. Naruto really liked the sword, but that didn't mean he fought well with it. The thing was real heavy, and he had little practice with it. He'd try and learn how to use it after he at least perfected his taijutsu.

The sword really was nice, It was a double edged blade and just under a foot wide and about Naruto's height in length. And it was made out of some cool metal that made the sword black. Naruto mostly had a bunch of cool knives, with the rest of the bandits' weapons being raggedy swords. Once everything was put into place Naruto went to bed.


End file.
